10 Common Misconceptions or Complaints about Water Damages

7/30/2021 (Permalink)

Water damages are one of those things that seem like they should be easy to remedy to most people. Here are 10 common misconceptions and complaints we run into. Hopefully this helps you navigate your loss if you ever have one.

1. “Can’t I just put in some fans?” Fans help, yes, but are not the only part of the drying equation. Fans help to push the moisture from your walls, ceilings, and floors into the air, and our commercial dehumidifiers help to pull all that water out of the air. Through a formula known as Psychrometry we can determine how many air exchanges it will take to dry your home or business with the equipment we place. Thats some fancy math!
2. “I’ll just rip up my flooring. Insurance will replace it.” Hold up, wait a minute! Often flooring can be dried in place and then cleaned after it is dry. It is more cost effective to do this than to replace flooring that is still in good condition. Ultimately saving claim funds is better for you and your insurance company.
3. “Open the doors and windows to help it dry out.” We are begging you, PLEASE do not do this unless you are instructed to by a water damage professional. If you live in a climate that is humid (hello Central Florida, looking at you) it is going to be more detrimental than helpful. The goal is to dry your structure, the natural humidity is going to make that worse. In fact, it would be better to turn your AC down so that it stays on until we get there with commercial equipment to begin drying.
4. “UGH, this equipment is so HOT and so LOUD! I’m turning it off because I can’t sleep, work, or think!” You aren’t wrong. It is loud. It is hot. And it does make work, sleep, and even thinking hard to do. We PROMISE that if you stick with it and allow the equipment to do its job your home or business will dry much faster than if you turn it off and it only gets to work in small increments. Also, turning equipment off and allowing moisture to stay trapped will potentially lead to microbial growth (yep MOLD). I can promise you that 5 days of drying equipment is better than 10 days of mold remediation…not to mention that improperly handling your water damage can open issues with coverage for your claim with your insurance company. Trust me, it’s worth it to leave the loud, hot equipment on.
5. “I thought you said you were getting paid by the insurance company. Why are you sending me a bill?” Our company works with all insurance companies. That being said, as the policy holder YOU are the one that the insurance company will send payment to (about half of the time). You will then need to forward payment to us. We do submit billing to the insurance company for you and we do work with your adjuster to close out payment for our services. We will also do our best to help you through the claim process. Ultimately, as the homeowner, or business owner, it is up to you to make sure payment is received for services rendered. If your insurance company determines that your loss is not covered by your policy you will be responsible for payment. We will always do our best to work with our customers if this is necessary.
6. “I heard it only takes 3 days to dry out a house.” While it is true that many homes can be dried in a few days every structure is different. There are MANY unforeseen circumstances that can affect drying time. There are certain “best practices” that we adhere to for drying that help ensure timely progress. We also perform moisture inspections daily during a dry-out. This allows us to reposition equipment if we need to, remove equipment from areas that have dried, and to make sure that we are watching progress of anything that may require additional help.
7. “I’m paying for this myself, so please don’t charge me what you charge an insurance company.” Our industry uses a couple of different software platforms for estimating/breaking down a job. Those platforms set the pricing. Insurance companies also use these systems, but the pricing is not “for” the insurance company. They’re getting the same pricing as you!
8. “Who trains you?” The IICRC-Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification-is who we are certified and trained by primarily. (Here is the link to the about section of their web site https://www.IICRC.org/general/custom.asp?page=AbouttheIICRC). Any time you need a restoration professional you want to verify that they are a certified firm. You can do this by checking the IICRC site or asking for a copy of the firm’s certificate. Aside from the professional training by the IICRC, we offer in house training as well as additional training from other industry organizations.
9. “Who is paying the power bill after you leave all that equipment plugged in?” We suggest that you reach out to your assigned insurance adjuster and ask if this is something that your policy will cover. In some cases, they need to see your bill for the month before and the month after, to show that there was an increase in usage. However, thanks to technology advancements, unless you’re dealing with a large amount of equipment for a long time, I doubt you’ll notice too much of a difference.
10. “All of you water damage companies are the same”…. I beg to differ. This is personal for us. We are all here because we want to help. We know that having your home or business turned upside down is stressful. Unfortunately for most people, LIFE is stressful these days. Add a water damage to the mix and it’s almost more than anyone can take. We are here to help you through that. Not only do we care, but our company has been in business over 35 years! There just aren’t that many companies in our industry that can say that. Know why? The industry isn’t THAT old. It’s only been since people started having things like air conditioning, drywall, hot water heaters, appliances, and double paned windows that there was a need. Our industry is constantly growing and changing, and we are proud to have been at the forefront of that growth for so long.

Remember, nothing beats the restoration pros at SERVPRO of West Orange. The best thing to do in case of water damage at your home or business is give us a call. We will help make it Like it Never Even Happened.